DeSantis' visit to Iowa comes amid high anticipation from state Republicans, who have watched him closely from afar and are eager to take his measure up close.
"Our grandkids live in Florida, so we've had a chance to see and hear what he's done down there," Kim Schmett, a longtime Iowa GOP activist, told CNN before the visit. "But everyone in Florida tells us, we don't want him to run for president because we want to keep him here. That's a good thing to hear about somebody holding public office."
In Davenport, people lined up as early as 6 a.m. to enter the event room. DeSantis signed books after he concluded his remarks, which saw him recount many of his political battles of the past two years, from his management of the Covid-19 pandemic in Florida to fighting Disney over legislation that banned certain instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom.
At the same time, former President Donald Trump has been making his own calls into Iowa over the past two weeks -- targeting some of the same legislators and longtime supporters and urging them to endorse his candidacy again. DeSantis did not mention Trump in his remarks in Davenport, but he contrasted his administration against the chaos and leaks that at times engulfed the Trump White House.
It remains unclear the extent to which DeSantis will prioritize Iowa and other early nominating states as he lays the groundwork for a campaign focused on outlasting Trump in the GOP primary. Two people with knowledge of the planning, who asked not to be named, said DeSantis' political operation is plotting an ambitious, nationwide strategy that will focus as much on competing in Trump strongholds and large, winner-take-all contests as it will in the initial battlegrounds.
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